Amba (Hebrew: עמבה‎)(Arabic: عمبه ‎)is a tangy mango pickle condiment popular in middle eastern cuisine particularly Iraqi and Israeli cuisines. It is also popular in India, where it originates, and is widely manufactured and bottled for the world market^[1]. The main differences between amba and achar are that amba has large pieces of mango rather than small cubes and that it uses more vinegar and no oil, and the pickle for the amba tends to be denser. Other than that, the two types of pickles are about the same. The ingredients in amba typically include mangoes, vinegar, salt, mustard, turmeric, and chili. Another important ingredient in amba is fenugreek, which gives it a distinct flavour and scent. It is the fenugreek in the amba which alters body odour following sufficient consumption. It is commonly as a side dish, or consumed with bread particularly by Iraqis, and is sometimes used, particularly in Israel, as a shawarma sandwich topping.

Amba enjoys much popularity in Israel, to which it was brought by Iraqi Jews. The food item was very popular among some Jews and a popular notion in Israel, particularly in the 50s and 60s when they first arrived, was that Iraqis cannot live without amba in the morning. However, mangoes and some of the seasonings were very expensive, so stores that sold amba tended to dilute it with a lot of water, and sometimes flour. Amba is often used to dress sabikh^[2] and is usually available wherever falafel and shawarma are sold.

Amba enjoys a loved stature in iraqi cuisine, especially as a spicy sauce per se to be added to kubbah, Kebabs, and eggs. See some of the dishes in Iraqi cuisine for further details.

[edit] See also

• Iraqi cuisine
• Israeli cuisine
• Middle eastern cuisine

[edit] References

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